Julia Roberts, star of Erin Brokovich and Pretty Woman, makes her debut starring in a TV streaming series in Amazon Prime Video’s mind-bending psychological thriller Homecoming (November 2). Roberts, 51, plays Heidi Berman, a caseworker at a facility that helps soldiers transition back to civilian life who, years later, discovers a disturbing story behind the story.

It’s a genre I love. I have done some great ones [Sleeping With the Enemy], so it is nice to come back to it, especially with [director] Sam [Esmail]. His twists and turns are so subtle and clever so it was really enjoyable.

Were you familiar with the podcast Homecoming is based on?

I was really taken with the podcast. The characters were terrific. I was listening to it with [a TV series] in mind.

You and Dermot Mulroney, who plays your boyfriend in this, have worked together before. Do you have a favorite memory?

This is our third time working together. My Best Friend’s Wedding was super fun and that’s when we became best pals, so that has a place in the heart for sure. Then he was my sister’s fiancé in August: Osage County, and finally, my boyfriend in this. [Laughs] It only took 30 years!

What’s your relationship with TV at home?

I wish it played a bigger role in my life. I have three young children, so I’m very careful about turning the TV on. And by the time we do turn the TV on, I’m usually ready to go to sleep.

There were days when we did 11 pages of dialogue in one camera move up and down hallways, down stairs, through huge conference rooms and cafeterias—it was pretty amazing. It’s been pretty challenging. The show could be renamed No Easy Days, because there were none!

What was the part of this that was unexplored territory?

It was a great mental challenge every day. I loved that. The fuel a lot of times is, how many pages are we going to do tomorrow? And is there going to be one shot with all of them, or do we get a couple of shots to make? It became exciting.

I think as a crew and as a cast, we all really enjoyed how challenging Sam made all the aspects for us. It’s not just about having ourselves prepared. It’s about can you be prepared, walk up and down 10 flights of stairs, keep it going and be on the phone, or do this or that, or prepare a 10-course meal while you’re juggling with your feet. So it was exciting for the crew to figure out ways to accomplish Sam’s dreams, as well as for all of us, I think.

Is this a character that you’d like to live in a little longer?

Well, we just finished in June, so I was happy to take a summer off in hiding.

Were you looking to do more TV after The Normal Heart? Was it your goal to explore the small screen?

I didn’t really think of it as small screen/big screen. My television is very big. I think with Sam, we were so excited to be able to collaborate on this and what we could do with it. It seemed like a great opportunity.

There isn’t a distinction anymore between film and TV. Everything is so good. The bar is so high. For me, it’s nice to bring something into people’s homes. We’re like a delivery service. We’re delivering entertainment right to your doorstep.

What were some of the challenges that came up while shooting?

It was like the harder the task, the faster we accomplished things. It was very strange. We were also very strangely happy all the time. The first week, we were going home at 11:30 a.m. or something, and then everybody was like, “OK, we need to redo the schedule here. We can’t do four-hour days every day.”

What is Sam like as a director?

He’s just a total treasure. I loved every minute we spent together creatively and socially. He just knows exactly the thing to say at all the right times. I felt that we had a great symbiotic relationship.

I’m fortunate that I’ve worked with a few directors that are as genius-minded as Sam is, but I don’t think anybody could top his daily enthusiasm. He’s just excited every day. He’s ready to go, smiling, and good morning. He just wants that. He loves it so much and that is really contagious, where we all end up feeling that way, and even though we say we worked four-hour days, there were some long days, long scenes. We had a lot of complicated things to do and we were always happy.

There are pictures of your husband [Danny Moder] helping you out. Will you guys work together on a project any time soon?

AMG/Parade Digital

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